SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is a popular animated television series airing on Nickelodeon. The pilot episode first aired in the US after the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on 1 May 1999. It officially aired on 17 July of the same year with the second episode "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants". Characters The show stars an ensemble cast of ten main characters. They were created by Stephen Hillenburg, a former teacher of marine science. He was inspired to design a group of aquatic characters while working at the Ocean Institute in the 1980s. The title character is a sea sponge named SpongeBob. He has two neighbors: a pink starfish named Patrick and an arrogant octopus named Squidward. He works for a miserly crab named Mr. Krabs, who lives in an anchor with his whale daughter Pearl. SpongeBob attends a boat-driving school where he is taught by a pufferfish named Mrs. Puff. He often visits Sandy, a squirrel from the land who lives in an air-filled dome. The villains of the show are a copepod named Plankton and his waterproof computer, Karen, who want to run Mr. Krabs out of business. SpongeBob also has a pet snail, Gary, who meows like a cat. Each episode features SpongeBob and at least one of the other main characters. SpongeBob and Pearl were the first two characters that Stephen created for the show. He created SpongeBob because he thought it was funny to use the sea sponge⁠—a "weird" sea creature and one of his favorite animals⁠—as the lead character. He was inspired to create Pearl while supervising whale watches at the Ocean Institute. Stephen was particularly interested in the sperm whale, which he chose for Pearl's species. Most of the other main characters were invented for his series bible, a book that he used to pitch the show to Nickelodeon. A new addition to the main cast, Mrs. Puff, was made at the request of Nickelodeon executives in 1997. They told Stephen that they would not produce the cartoon unless SpongeBob was a kid who went to school, with his teacher as a main character.Big Pop Fun podcast: Stephen Hillenburg, artist and animator Stephen was ready to "walk out" on Nickelodeon; he insisted that SpongeBob should be a childlike adult so that he could be universally relatable. He eventually came up with a compromise that he loved: SpongeBob would go to a boat-driving school, run by a pufferfish named Mrs. Puff. This satisfied Nickelodeon's demands for a teacher while keeping SpongeBob as an adult.TBIVision: 'SpongeBob SquarePants' creator Steve Hillenburg Popularity SpongeBob SquarePants has gained a loyal international following with children and adults alike. Merchandise based on the show, for instance, ranges from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Kellogg's Cereal, and video games to boxer shorts, pajamas, and t-shirts. It has become a favorite cartoon for television viewers. There have been kids meal tie-ins at Wendy's and Burger King restaurants, so much so when a SpongeBob SquarePants movie promotion ran in 2004, thieves stole nine-foot-high by nine-foot-wide SpongeBob inflatables, wanting Krabby Patties as ransom, and signed by someone who claims to be Sheldon J. Plankton . More recently, a similar promotion on 19 May 2005 for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was introduced, but this time, with Darth Vader inflatables are on the rooftops of Burger King, where Shrek and SpongeBob SquarePants once stood, waiting to be stolen. He was also featured on VH1's I Love the 90s: Part Deux: 1999 as part of a commentary by Michael Ian Black. More recently, a tie-in beverage for 7-Eleven convenience stores has been created, a pineapple-flavored Slurpee. SpongeBob is the first "low budget" Nickelodeon cartoon, according to the network, to become extremely popular. Long had low-budget cartoons been living in the shadow of Rugrats, but SpongeBob aired in 1999 and almost immediately became more popular. SpongeBob is the fourth Nickelodeon show to attract "older" followers (the first was Rocko's Modern Life, whose executive producer was SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg, then the Kablam! skit Action League Now!, then The Angry Beavers, then SpongeBob, and after SpongeBob, The Fairly OddParents, Squirrel's Job and Invader ZIM took a similar role when they aired in 2001 and the former is now second only to SpongeBob in popularity). SpongeBob is one cartoon in a long line of shows to put in more "adult" references, and has become so popular with the adult crowd that it has been shown on MTV and Spike TV. A certain quote by Patrick ("It's gonna rock!") has been used as a promo for rock stations. Ren and Stimpy, among others, had followed a similar path. Theme song The theme song, a sea shanty-style tune, is the principal song used in the series SpongeBob SquarePants. It is sung by Pat Pinney and can be found on the soundtrack, SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights. A cover of the song by rock star Avril Lavigne can be found on [[The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (soundtrack)|the soundtrack for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie]]. There was also a choral version done for the early episodes. (Where the words "SpongeBob SquarePants" were replaced by "Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants.") There has been made for the "WhoBob WhatPants"-special a special theme, where the words "SpongeBob SquarePants" are replaced by "WhoBob WhatPants". History / Production Controversy Despite the show's popularity, SpongeBob has endured much controversy, though this is not new for Nickelodeon; many of its cartoons, including Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers, Invader Zim, Squirrel's Job and The Fairly OddParents, have sparked controversy in one way or another before or after SpongeBob. SpongeBob's popularity has made its controversy more noticeable and larger scale. One of the show's first controversies was about terrorism. The whole controversy started after the 11 September 2001 attacks, when the show received higher ratings than usual. Some people may think that the show may have some form of terrorism, but many fans and other people believe that the paraphrased line, "it's just a show that heals your depressions from terrible things in life" explains the rise in viewers. SpongeBob had a primarily clean start for its first two seasons and the beginning of the third season. SpongeBob and Patrick's close friendship in many episodes (including an episode where they hold hands) led some viewers to the conclusion that SpongeBob and Patrick were homosexual. The 2002 episode, "Rock-A-Bye-Bivalve", had SpongeBob and Patrick adopt a baby scallop, furthering the rumor. This viewpoint sparked controversy around the news, however this rumor has recently been proven false for numerous reasons. Independent of assumptions, the cartoon's acceptance and optimism have made it popular within parts of the real-life gay community. More recently, SpongeBob was featured in the pro-tolerance "We Are Family" commercial. The video has sparked controversy because some conservative Christian groups believe that the We Are Family Foundation]] was using it to promote the normalization of homosexuality in American schools. A spokesman for the foundation suggests that anyone who thought the video promoted homosexuality "needs to visit their doctor and get their medication increased.". It has been incorrectly reported that James Dobson, a leading moral figure among many conservative Christians, believes SpongeBob is homosexual or promotes a 'homosexual lifestyle'.http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=892 Voice Actors and their characters * Tom Kenny: SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail, French Narrator, Patchy the Pirate, a Squid * Dee Bradley Baker: Squilliam Fancyson, Various Squids, Customers, Vendors * Rodger Bumpass: Squidward Tentacles * Bill Fagerbakke: Patrick Star * Carolyn Lawrence: Sandy Cheeks * Clancy Brown: Eugene Krabs * Doug Lawrence (a.k.a. Mr. Lawrence): Sheldon J. Plankton, Larry Lobster * Lori Alan: Pearl Krabs * Mary Jo Catlett: Poppy Puff * Ernest Borgnine: Mermaid Man * Tim Conway: Barnacle Boy * Stephen Hillenburg: Potty * Brian Doyle-Murray: The Flying Dutchman * Charles Nelson Reilly: The Dirty Bubble * Marion Ross: Grandma Squarepants * Jill Talley: Karen, Plankton's computer wife. Additional voices in the movie * Scarlett Johansson: Princess Mindy * Jeffrey Tambor: King Neptune * Alec Baldwin: Dennis the Hitman Main Crew * Stephen Hillenburg: Creator/Executive Producer (1999-2004) * Derek Drymon: Creative Director/Writer/Story Editor/Executive Producer (2004-Present) * Sherm Cohen: Art Director/Writer/Executive Prouducer (2005-Present) * Paul Tibbitt: Writer/Storyboard Director/Backing Voice Actor * Merriwether Williams: Story Editor/Writer * Doug Lawrence (Mr. Lawrence): Writer/Story Editor/Voice Of Plankton and Larry * Chuck Klein: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Jay Lender: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Sam Henderson: Writer/Storyboard Director * Kaz: Writer/Storyboard Artist * Aaron Springer: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * C.H. Greenblatt: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Bradley Carow: Music * David Wigforss: Special Effects (CG visual effects animator) * Caleb Muerer: Art Director * Andy Rheingold: Executive in Charge of Production * Tim Hill: Writer * Eric Wiese: Writer/Storyboard Artist * Mark O'Hare: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Steven Fonti: Writer/Storyboard Director (1999) * Chris Mitchell: Writer/Storyboard Artist (1999) * Mike Bell: Writer/Storyboard Director (2005-) * Vincent Waller: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director/Technicial Director (2005-) * Alan Smart: Animation Director * Tom Yasumi: Animation Director * Andrew Overtoom: Animation Director * Sean Dempsey: Animation Director Characters * SpongeBob SquarePants :A square sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. He works at the Krusty Krab with his boring neighbor Squidward (see below). * Squidward Tentacles : A hostile squid that lives in an Easter Island head between the domiciles of SpongeBob and Patrick (see below). Although loved by the other characters, Squidward appears pessimistic and antisocial. * Patrick Star : A cheerful, naive and unintelligent starfish, who is SpongeBob's best friend. He lives under a rock to the right of Squidward's house. * Sandy Cheeks : Another friend of SpongeBob's, Sandy is an athletic squirrel from Texas. She wears an old spacesuit and lives in the "Treedome" so that she can survive Bikini Bottom's ocean environment. * Eugene H. Krabs : The money-addicted, miserly owner of the Krusty Krab. Commonly known as Mr. Krabs, he is SpongeBob and Squidward's boss. He lives in an anchor with his daughter Pearl, who is literally as big as a whale, because she is one. * Gary : SpongeBob's pet Snail that mainly says 'Meow'. Very intelligent, as revealed in the episode "Sleepy Time." Gary actually wears shoes, and taught SpongeBob how to tie his shoes. Gary also has a record player in his shell. * Sheldon J. Plankton : The owner of the Chum Bucket and Mr. Krabs's main rival. Usually called by his surname (Plankton). He is determined to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula from The Krusty Krab and run Mr. Krabs out of business. Episodes List of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes Seasons Episodes: Movies Picture DVD List of SpongeBob SquarePants DVD's References External links *SpongeBob SquarePants Wikia - a SpongeBob SquarePants Wiki. *SpongePedia - a SpongeBob SquarePants Wiki. *SpongeBob.com - a SpongeBob official site. Category:NickToons Show Category:Shows on Nickelodeon Category:SpongeBob SquarePants